The battery in my 06 HHR went dead so we just started it with positive on the lead under the hood and the negative on the strut tower bolt and now it has been starting fine but ever since this, I lost speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge. The back light comes on on the cluster and also the brake light, abs light, stay on. The check engine light comes on becomes there is an o2 sensor code so if I clear it the light goes off for a little bit. I also notice that when the car spins the traction control comes on but the light doesn't flash in the cluster like it usually does to tell you that it is active. Also, the steering wheel doesn't lock after removing the key. What could I try? I tried disconnecting the battery for a while and reconnect it but it didn't change anything. I took it for a little drive but that didn't change anything as well.

 

Welcome to the site, the battery voltage is borderline, the alternator doesn’t charge the system, it’s not able to, just keep it charged.
the computer needs a certain voltage to operate the system.
You could trickle charge your battery or replace it, it only has a 4 to 6 year life expectancy, some have gotten way more out of their batteries, but that’s really rare.

 

to the forums!!

Yes, the battery is suspect. Go to your auto parts store and get a free battery load test, post up the numbers here.

While you're there, get a free charging system test also.

 

Well I took the battery from my '14 f150 which i know is good and tried it in the hhr and the car behaved the same. I took it for a drive to see if it would correct itself but it didn't. With the engine is running there is no temperature gauge, no speedometer and no tachometer, i also have no odometer. I drove it at night and noticed that the headlights go out if I try the high beams but the low beams and fog light work fine. Flash to pass also does not work, the high beams do not come on but the low beams stay on while it's activated. Also the cruise control works fine. I am starting to think the bcm needs to be reprogrammed at the dealer. I checked all fuses inside the car and under the hood and they are all good. I attached a pic of the cluster with the car running while stationary , as you can see no rpm, no fuel(car is full) and no odometer. Also checked battery voltage was 12.6v and while running 14.8v.

 

Load test the battery and bench test the alternator, one or both are toast .

 

Or when it was jumped, it wasn't done right, and something got shorted out.

Who was the other person who had very similar issues? Anyone remember?

 

I am also able to remove the check engine light temporarily with my code reader, it has an o2 sensor code but it had that code for a while so if I clear it the light goes out until the same coswy comes back.

 

Almost sounds like the BCM took a hit.

If so these people may be able to help https://www.unitedradio.com/automoti...manufacturing/

 

Would someone have the wiring diagram for the BCM on an 06 HHR? I would like to see the circuits fed from the BCM to see if it matches with my symptoms.

 

I do but it is several pages long. Donbrew our Tech Mod should have a single page sheet or the whole thing he can send you.
Fwiw. I would recheck the fuses in the inside (BCM) fuse box. The HVAC/Ign fuse and the Cluster fuse seem to be the power supplies for the instrument panel gauges.